Self-settistg head and tail blocks eor sawmills



LEVI SHEALD, OF BART-LETT, OHIO.

SELF-SETTING HEAD Ann TAIL` BLOCKS'FOR sAwMILLsl specification ofLetters Patent NO laiee,'dated-ames,184e.

To all fav/wm @'25 may concern.'

4Be it known that I, LEVI HEALD, of Bart-V lett, in the count-y ofWashingtonand State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Manner ofConstructing Head and Tail Blocks of Sawmills, by which They areRendered Self-Setting; and I do herebyd'eclareV that the vfollowing is afull and `exact description thereof. 1

'Ihe main body of my .head or tail block :is formed Vin the usual way,but Ythe part upon which the ends ofthe log rest is peculiar in itsconstruction, being composed of t-hree principal pieces. Two of thesepieces, which may beV of two-inch vplank,fare

placed edgewise, rest-ing on the sides of the carriage, within the mainblock, and form by their combination a bearing of four inches for thelog; and upon these is laid the third Y piece of timber which may alsobe of twoinch plank, and be :tour inches wide; this latterV piece formsthe actual bearing for Vthe log, being placed flatwise upon the -twoformer; to this uppermost piece the dogs which are to hold the log inplace are attached. The two pieces of plank first named do not, when thelog is being sawed, .stand at precisely the same height'from the car-Vriage, the outermost piece, or that which is immediately against themain block being a little, say a fourth of an inch, lower than theinnermost piece, so that, at the time of sawing, the weight of the logis actually borne by the latter. In the act of backing the carriage, theoutermost of the two pieces of plank is raised up by means of inclinedplanes placed on the floor of the sawmill, which operate upon a striphinged to its lower edge, and which allows the carriage to pass in onedirection without raising said pieces. 'Vhen the log is raised so as tobea-r its whole weight on the outermost pieces of plank, t-he innermostpieces are forced endwise by the action of a spring, and are thusbrought up against a gage duly set to the thickness of the stuff andthese pieces rise, at the same time up aninclined plane at each end.Then the hinged pieces on the outermost bearing blocks are liberatedfrom the inclined planes on the floor of the mill,

the weight of the log resting on the inner-V most pieces, they slidedown their inclined planes, are brought up against a shoulder on thecarriage, and the setting of the log is thereby completed.

y In the accompanying drawings, Figure l,

islatop view ofra-sawf'mill floor andcarriage with a part of theirappurtenances.A A, A, are the carriage sides.; yB, the tail block;

C, C, the wayson which 'the carriage runs.Y

The headblock-is not shown, as its construction, so -far as myimprovement 1s concerned,

`i-s 4,the `same ywith that of the -tail block.

D,D,D,AD., are pieces of timber fastened to l.theifloor of Vthe mill,.and `constituting inclined planes forfraising the log when it is ,-tobe set `for a fresh cut. At -the'head block end thereare two pairofthese,asthe parts concerned in raisingand settingthe log have `to v'be4divided into two, iadmitting the .saw Ybetween them. `E,istheoutermost,.and F, the innermost yof the ipieces of two-inch plank-upon which the end of .the logis to rest.

4`Gr, fisfa gpiece of plank four inches wide, which isrto be placed onvthe top of the pieces E, H, H, Vrepresent the dogs driven into Vthis.piece; a, a, a, are vpoint-s driven into the vupper side-of :the pieceF,

which, entering Ainto the under side oit-the piece-G, obviate alltendency'tolthe slipping of the logupon it. j

"Fig 3, is a vertical section of the :saw carriage in the line ofjunction between the planks E, and F. Y y 'j Fig. 4, is a similarsection in front of the plank F.

Fig. 5, is a longitudinal, vertical section of the carriage and floor,in the line b, b, of Fig. l.v The plank E, is connected to the headblock B, by bolts c, held by staples (l, cl; recesses e, e, being cut inthe head block to admit said bolts when the plank E, is made to rise. D,D, are inclined planes which serve to raise the plank E; but in theposition in which the tail block B, is represented, which is that inwhich the loghas just been set, the hinged piece I, would pass over theinclined planes D, without raising said plank; and in like mannersimilary pieces attached to'the head block (but not represented), wouldpass over the inclined planes D. The inclined planes D, are madeadjustable on the floor to adapt them to the length of the log. Thelower edge of the plank F, I cut in the general form shown in Fig. 4;the parts e, e, constitute inclined planes which are received intonotches in the .upper side of the carriage, and it will be apparent thatwere this plank slipped laterally in the direction of the arrow, itstendency would be to resume its present position 'vvere' a Weight, asthat of a log, to be brought dovvnupon it; this, it Will present-lyappear, is one of the principal elements in my mode of setting the log.The parts f, f, also form two inclined planes against Which projectingpins g, g, are brought into contact When the plank E, is made to rise;these pins serve to lift the inclines e', e', clear of their bearings onthe saw carriage, and ren, der itA easy. to move thepiece E, laterally,when required. v v i 1/ v J, Fig. 1,'is a gage, having set screws, todetermine the setting of the log.

K, is a spring, which may be of Wood, and bearsuponone end of the plankF, inv order to move it laterally against the gage J,- When thevveightof the log is removed.

- From the foregoing Vdescription of the respective parts, themanner ofsetting the log will be readily understood. Whena cutl has been made,and the lcarriage Yis being backed, the hinged pieces I, on the loweredges of the plank E,constituting posts to the head and 'tail blocks,are brought intov action on the inclined planes D, D, by` Which` the logis-raised, say to the height of an inch, or more, above the plank F,which is conse-v quently* freed' from `its pressure, and said,

plank is then forced endwise-by the spring K, againstfthe gage'J.Whenthe log de-' scends, its Whole bearing -is transferred to; the plankF, through 'the intermedium of@ the dog plank G, and the plank F,'carrying the log, Will then descend the inclined planes: e', e', untilbrought up bythe shoulder e, which lwill completel the operation ofsettino'.r f IIaving thus, fully described the construction andoperation of my self-setting saW mill, what I claim therein as new, anddesire i to secure by Letters Patent, is lflhey manner herein set forthlatter against the gage, inthe manner, and i for the purpose, set forth;andsso that the Weight vof the llog `When again brought to bear uponYthe piece F, shall complete the setting, by the action of the inclinedvplanes e", e.

in which* I have arranged the movable parts of the rdofnot Claim. eitherof the individual parts above described When taken separately and alone;but I do claimto have invented a new combinationand arrangement of therespective comblnation and arrangement vof therespective parts concernedin the render-V ing the setting of a log on the saw-mill selfacting,which is new and distinctive in its character; and I therefore claim thesaid arrangement under any of the modifications Y' of which it issusceptible, While the same remains substantially as described, in` itsmode of act1on.` Y

Witnesses: ,v THos. PfJoNns, i

EDWIN L. BRUNDAGE.

character is preserved, andthe instrument Y

